The Mad Dogs are fairly flat, but I'm not sure if I would call them completely accurate, as accurate might imply analytical/cold, which the Mad Dogs are not. I'm not sure what would constitute accurate since my headphone knowledge is limited, so there you go.

BUT, I do listen to all the metal bands that you've listed, and the Mad Dogs sound wonderful on them. Particularly, the album of your avatar, the MD's sing on "Of Petrichor Weaves Black Noise"; the guitars and drums are weighty and sonorous, everything is well separated, and they can certainly keep up with all the layers that the song presents. The new alpha pads have brought the midrange of the cans forward; I was worried too that the laid-backness would've been an issue but either I don't know what laid-back means, or it hasn't really made an impact on my listening experience.

Detail is certainly not a problem on these cans at all; they're pretty revealing, as on many other albums I can actually hear ugly distortion on electric guitar tracks that I haven't heard on any other headphones (in particular, Alcest)

Do you prefer their sound over that of your B2? I typically like colder sounding cans, but that might be becausethose are the only decent ones that I am familiar with. Maybe a really good laid back can such as this would do me well. If only I had the money to buy one of everything and try it out for myself. *sigh* If only.

He extends the return policy for a good reason. He believes in his product. If he didn't want to offer the return policy he wouldn't. It's a simple business decision meant to show faith in his product.

Do you prefer their sound over that of your B2? I typically like colder sounding cans, but that might be becausethose are the only decent ones that I am familiar with. Maybe a really good laid back can such as this would do me well. If only I had the money to buy one of everything and try it out for myself. *sigh* If only.

I would hesitate to call the Alpha Dogs "laid back". They sit somewhere between my HE-6 and LCD-3 on the tonality spectrum with the LCD-3 being only slightly "laid back" (depending upon your definition) and the HE-6 being decidedly not laid back. They're bright when the music calls for it but not when it doesn't.

I would hesitate to call the Alpha Dogs "laid back". They sit somewhere between my HE-6 and LCD-3 on the tonality spectrum with the LCD-3 being only slightly "laid back" (depending upon your definition) and the HE-6 being decidedly not laid back. They're bright when the music calls for it but not when it doesn't.

You hit the nail right on the head +1..I did an A/B comparison with the AD's & the He-6's...

Excellent comparison--not sure about the lcd3's..never had an opportunity to use them.

Do you prefer their sound over that of your B2? I typically like colder sounding cans, but that might be becausethose are the only decent ones that I am familiar with. Maybe a really good laid back can such as this would do me well. If only I had the money to buy one of everything and try it out for myself. *sigh* If only.

Yes, I do prefer the sound to that over my B2, but that is not to say that one is "better", just I prefer one signature over the other. However detail-wise, I believe these full-sized cans beat them out nonetheless (disclaimer: I haven't 1v1'd them) and even present them more naturally; this is coming from someone who fell in love with his B2 at first hearing (Haha, it's still my avatar even!). As others have said, the alpha pads have brought the midrange forward and made the treble a little more sparkly, so perhaps laid-back isn't what I would call them.

Noble-fi notes this change as well in their updated review of the alpha pads.

It really does come down to you hearing them for yourself, and no one can fault you if you don't like it; that's exactly why mr. speakers offers the policy. Being mad or frustrated with people returning your product indicates an insecurity you have with the quality of your product; Dan is fully confident in his Mad Dogs, and if you return it because you don't like it, you won't hurt his feelings.

Yes, I do prefer the sound to that over my B2, but that is not to say that one is "better", just I prefer one signature over the other. However detail-wise, I believe these full-sized cans beat them out nonetheless (disclaimer: I haven't 1v1'd them) and even present them more naturally; this is coming from someone who fell in love with his B2 at first hearing (Haha, it's still my avatar even!). As others have said, the alpha pads have brought the midrange forward and made the treble a little more sparkly, so perhaps laid-back isn't what I would call them.

Noble-fi notes this change as well in their updated review of the alpha pads.

It really does come down to you hearing them for yourself, and no one can fault you if you don't like it; that's exactly why mr. speakers offers the policy. Being mad or frustrated with people returning your product indicates an insecurity you have with the quality of your product; Dan is fully confident in his Mad Dogs, and if you return it because you don't like it, you won't hurt his feelings.

It isn't that. I just like to be sure of my purchase first, otherwise I might end up with something that doesn't fit what I want and I have no one to blame but myself. Then sending them back would just make more work for Mr. Speakers. Hopefully, by the time I can rake together that much money, I will have a better idea of what I should get (poor college student :/).

It isn't that. I just like to be sure of my purchase first, otherwise I might end up with something that doesn't fit what I want and I have no one to blame but myself. Then sending them back would just make more work for Mr. Speakers. Hopefully, by the time I can rake together that much money, I will have a better idea of what I should get (poor college student :/).

Head-fi takes a toll on everybody's wallet.

However, it's all about experimenting and finding the rig that is right for you. I have ordered and returned quite a number of headphones just to see if they fit my tastes. I've never been so satisfied with a headphone for such a long time. I love the mad dogs. It will be a while before I start thinking, "Is there a better can out there for me?" I am satisfied for the time being.

EDIT: You cannot be absolutely "sure" of anything until you experience it yourself.

So I opened up my beyers, blew some dust away from the terminal area and put them back together and they seem to magically be fixed, strange...

Anyways, I still doubt that the issue could all be because of dust and the signal on the right side seems to not be perfect. If(/when) the issue reappears Mad Dog's still seem like the best choice although someone told me today that T50RP mods have huge variations with some being measured to the same quality of HE-500 and LCD2 (which Mad Dog's tend to be compared to) and some being measured to the quality of old Apple earbuds. Are the Mad Dog's plagued with such variations? Or was he just talking about T50RP mods in general?

only 2 weeks until i can finally order these! Just some questions how does the sound compare to the k701? i like the sound of my akgs they are so detailed and relaxing! are there any other phones in this price range that compete with the mad dogs? finally how do they feel are they light and plastic feeling? or solid feeling? cheers

So I opened up my beyers, blew some dust away from the terminal area and put them back together and they seem to magically be fixed, strange...

Anyways, I still doubt that the issue could all be because of dust and the signal on the right side seems to not be perfect. If(/when) the issue reappears Mad Dog's still seem like the best choice although someone told me today that T50RP mods have huge variations with some being measured to the same quality of HE-500 and LCD2 (which Mad Dog's tend to be compared to) and some being measured to the quality of old Apple earbuds. Are the Mad Dog's plagued with such variations? Or was he just talking about T50RP mods in general?

No, that was just a reference to different T50RP mods. Not all sound good. Dan checks for consistency in his products.